I just read this article that just goes to show that not all sportsmen are dumb jocks who can think about no one else but themselves.
Nnamdi Asomugha, you are a hero.
Thursday, 16 October 2008
Saturday, 30 August 2008
College Football Team Most Likely to Make 2008 a Great Season for Us at Shankar-GPS (CFTMLTMTAGSFUAS)
It is time at last to reveal the CFTMLTMTAGSFUAS. This is a prestigious title, and one that has been decided after a lot of careful thought, plenty of long-nurtured prejudices and random throwing of darts at a map of the United States.
Ladies and gentlemen...before I name the CFTMLTMTAGSFUAS, here's a little background.
I've always had a passive rooting interest in an SEC team, only that team changes every few years. I started off with the Florida Gators in the 1990s, because I liked watching the way they played on offence, and it was fun to see them try to get to the very top. Then they won the national title, soon afterwards Coach Spurrier left, and I switched allegiences (I can do that--I've never been to school or lived in SEC territory, so I'm an outsider) to the Louisiana State Tigers, due to my love of Cajun food, and the fact that my craziest driving performance was in downtown Baton Rouge (but that's another story). Like the Gators, LSU were knocking on the door of greatness for quite a while, and then they broke through and won two national championships in relatively quick time, so it's not as much fun anymore to root for them.
It's time for another switch. The formula is pretty simple: we need a once-great programme, now on the cusp of greatness again, and with a pretty good reason for me to like them.
Ladies and gentlemen (if any of you are still around), presenting the Shankar-GPS Great Hope for a Great College Football Season in 2008, the alma mater of Herschel Walker, the greatest college running back of all time, theeeeeeeeeee GEORGIA BULLDOGS!
Well, big whoop. They are ranked #1 in all the pre-season polls, and QB Matt Stafford is a prime Heisman candidate, and RB Knowshon Moreno was SEC Freshman of the Year in 2007. So it's not a stunningly bold pick.
Still, the Bulldogs have yet to take the final step under Mark Richt. They ended last season at #2, but their schedule this year has two real stinkers (at LSU and at Auburn) and plenty of banana skins in between. But I think that the Bulldogs are due, and that Uga will barking a lot between the hedges in 2008.
Ring the Bell, Dawgs!
Friday, 29 August 2008
The Fall wishlist - the Collegiate edition
I love College Football. Really, I do. Not only are there so many more teams to despise, but, also, because I've been to so many schools, there are so many more teams to love. Let's get rid of the negativity first in the First Shankar-GPS Football Wishlist - Collegiate Edition.
THE TEAMS I HOPE LOSE EARLY AND OFTEN, WHOSE SLEEP IS INTERRUPTED BY CATS FIGHTING OUTSIDE THEIR WINDOWS AND WHOSE STAR PLAYERS ARE STRICKEN BY INGROWN TOENAILS
In no particular order:
1. USC Trojans (Pac 10)
2. Texas Longhorns (Big 12)
3. Ohio State Buckeyes (Big 10)
4. Michigan Wolverines (Big 10)
5. Florida State Seminoles (ACC)
6. Alabama Crimson Tide (SEC)
7. Miami Hurricanes (ACC)
8. Nebraska Cornhuskers (Big 12)
9. Boston College Eagles (ACC)
10. Tennessee Volunteers (SEC)
Now, for the good stuff.
THE TEAMS WHO I HOPE MAKE TO THE BOWL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES (BUT I WOULDN'T COUNT ON IT)
This time I will go in order, from the least likely to have a good season, to the most likely.
6. Southern Illinois Salukis (Gateway): We can be sure the Salukis won't make a BCS game as they play in the FCS or whatever Division I-AA is called these days. When I went to school in Carbondale, they were rubbish. After I left, they became mediocre. Once I left the US, they became pretty hot stuff, advancing deep into the playoffs almost every year. This year it will be difficult as Head Coach Jerry Kill has left to coach the Northern Illinois Huskies.
5. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (Independent): I spent two fabulous falls at Notre Dame in the mid-90s, and I just loved the place. Too bad things didn't work out for me there academics-wise, but at least the football back then was of a pretty high standard. Unlike last year when the Irish managed to lose to Navy for the first time since Roger Staubach's Heisman Trophy winning year at Annapolis. I expect another mediocre season in '08, but the Irish are too much a part of me to stop me from hoping for a booster dose of the luck o' the Irish every Saturday.
4. Texas A&M Aggies (Big 12): Similar story to Notre Dame, with me having spent two glorious falls in College Station, but producing an equally lacklustre academic performance as at Notre Dame. The Aggies reached the Big 12 Championship Game both those seasons, but haven't smelled the game since. After the steady, but unspectacular, R. C. Slocum years came the Dennis Franchione Reign of Error. Now, Brett Favre's former head coach, Mike Sherman, comes along to try and return the Ags to their roots. We'll probably lose more than we should, but I'll settle for a return of the Wrecking Crew defence.
3. Oregon Ducks (Pac 10): I need a team to root for in the Pac 10, and until UCLA sort themselves out, Nike U is my rooting choice. The Ducks seem to come so close to doing something significant almost every year, and yet, somehow, they manage to muck it all up. Still, I live in hope that Mike Bellotti's guys will one day win the Pac 10 and give those blasted Trojans something to think about.
2. BYU Cougars (Mountain West): A third straight MWC title for Bronco Mendenhall's men will be hugely popular in my circles: I have more friends in the BYU system than any other university. And if the Cougars can come through undefeated, they will surely be able to gate-crash the BCS for the first time. The BCS is the worst cartel in American sports. Only teams from the ACC, Big 10, Big 12, Big East, Pac 10 and SEC make it, unless someone plays out of their skins and has a fantastic, undefeated year. The double standard is just so...un-American. For that reason alone, people should hope the Cougars make it.
And at Number 1...tune in tomorrow.
THE TEAMS I HOPE LOSE EARLY AND OFTEN, WHOSE SLEEP IS INTERRUPTED BY CATS FIGHTING OUTSIDE THEIR WINDOWS AND WHOSE STAR PLAYERS ARE STRICKEN BY INGROWN TOENAILS
In no particular order:
1. USC Trojans (Pac 10)
2. Texas Longhorns (Big 12)
3. Ohio State Buckeyes (Big 10)
4. Michigan Wolverines (Big 10)
5. Florida State Seminoles (ACC)
6. Alabama Crimson Tide (SEC)
7. Miami Hurricanes (ACC)
8. Nebraska Cornhuskers (Big 12)
9. Boston College Eagles (ACC)
10. Tennessee Volunteers (SEC)
Now, for the good stuff.
THE TEAMS WHO I HOPE MAKE TO THE BOWL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES (BUT I WOULDN'T COUNT ON IT)
This time I will go in order, from the least likely to have a good season, to the most likely.
6. Southern Illinois Salukis (Gateway): We can be sure the Salukis won't make a BCS game as they play in the FCS or whatever Division I-AA is called these days. When I went to school in Carbondale, they were rubbish. After I left, they became mediocre. Once I left the US, they became pretty hot stuff, advancing deep into the playoffs almost every year. This year it will be difficult as Head Coach Jerry Kill has left to coach the Northern Illinois Huskies.
5. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (Independent): I spent two fabulous falls at Notre Dame in the mid-90s, and I just loved the place. Too bad things didn't work out for me there academics-wise, but at least the football back then was of a pretty high standard. Unlike last year when the Irish managed to lose to Navy for the first time since Roger Staubach's Heisman Trophy winning year at Annapolis. I expect another mediocre season in '08, but the Irish are too much a part of me to stop me from hoping for a booster dose of the luck o' the Irish every Saturday.
4. Texas A&M Aggies (Big 12): Similar story to Notre Dame, with me having spent two glorious falls in College Station, but producing an equally lacklustre academic performance as at Notre Dame. The Aggies reached the Big 12 Championship Game both those seasons, but haven't smelled the game since. After the steady, but unspectacular, R. C. Slocum years came the Dennis Franchione Reign of Error. Now, Brett Favre's former head coach, Mike Sherman, comes along to try and return the Ags to their roots. We'll probably lose more than we should, but I'll settle for a return of the Wrecking Crew defence.
3. Oregon Ducks (Pac 10): I need a team to root for in the Pac 10, and until UCLA sort themselves out, Nike U is my rooting choice. The Ducks seem to come so close to doing something significant almost every year, and yet, somehow, they manage to muck it all up. Still, I live in hope that Mike Bellotti's guys will one day win the Pac 10 and give those blasted Trojans something to think about.
2. BYU Cougars (Mountain West): A third straight MWC title for Bronco Mendenhall's men will be hugely popular in my circles: I have more friends in the BYU system than any other university. And if the Cougars can come through undefeated, they will surely be able to gate-crash the BCS for the first time. The BCS is the worst cartel in American sports. Only teams from the ACC, Big 10, Big 12, Big East, Pac 10 and SEC make it, unless someone plays out of their skins and has a fantastic, undefeated year. The double standard is just so...un-American. For that reason alone, people should hope the Cougars make it.
And at Number 1...tune in tomorrow.
Thursday, 28 August 2008
The Fall wishlist - the Pro edition
When I moved to the US in the Fall of '93, it took me all of a fortnight to get fully immersed into American Football, or just "football" as they call it. I chose my teams rather arbitrarily, but have stuck with them through thick and thin (mainly thin, I'm afraid) ever since.
Since I left the US in early '04, I've not been able to follow the game with quite the same intensity as before, owing to the fact that kick-off time in the US usually coincides with bedtime in Asia. However, I still follow the results, and still root for my teams.
As my teams often have rotten seasons, I find it is also important to have two more categories of teams: the nice teams, i.e., teams you don't mind winning, and the stinkers, i.e., the teams you really want to lose games, have their players suffer from severe dandruff and and the coaches/owners of which teams you would like to see slip on a banana skin and plunge headfirst down a flight of stairs. (Childish, yes. But most sports are a bit childish.)
With the start of the 2008 American football season rapidly approaching, everyone and his uncle has a Football Preview of one sort or the other. I am handicapped because all my opinions are based on prejudice and what I read on espn.com.
So, rather than present to what I think will happen, I present to you what I hope will happen in the First Shankar GPS Football Wishlist - Pro Edition.
THINGS THAT WILL MAKE A STUPENDOUS SEASON:
1. The Dallas Cowboys win the Super Bowl.
2. The New England Patriots lose the Super Bowl or AFC Championship Game (heck, any game), preferably on an interception returned for a touchdown with 2 seconds remaining in the 4th quarter.
THINGS THAT WILL MAKE A PERFECTLY ADEQUATE SEASON:
1. The Indianapolis Colts win the Super Bowl.
2. The New York Jets win the Super Bowl.
3. The New York Giants miss the playoffs.
4. The Washington Redskins miss the playoffs.
5. The Philadelphia Eagles miss the playoffs.
As you can tell, dear reader (if there are any of you left at this point), a lot of mature thought and scientific analysis has gone into the production of this list.
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